Malaysia U-22 head coach Ong Kim Swee refused to blame goalkeeper Muhammad Haziq Nadzli for his own goal at the SEA Games final against Thailand at Shah Alam Stadium on Wednesday.
“It’s a difficult situation for Haziq, and the mistake can happen to any player. We cannot blame him, he’s still young and still learning,” he told the media at the post-match press conference, as quoted by the New Straits Times.
“We had a great start to the game, but we gave them an untimely goal. We tried to push back but we could not make any breakthrough.
“I’m not happy because we didn’t win the gold medal but I’m satisfied with the overall performance of the players with the limited time we’ve had. We have proven that we can compete with the teams in the region” said Kim Swee.
Malaysia suffered a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to Thailand after the Johor Darul Ta’zim goalkeeper accidentally punched the ball into his own net from a corner kick in the 39th minute.